


The Art of Subtelty

by i_know_its_0ver



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Fluff, Gen, M/M, POV Outsider, Pack Dynamics, Pack Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-08
Updated: 2012-11-08
Packaged: 2017-11-18 05:35:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,482
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/557468
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/i_know_its_0ver/pseuds/i_know_its_0ver
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Erica is determined to set up Derek and Stiles. For the greater good, of course. Turns out she’s not as good at scheming as she thinks.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Art of Subtelty

**Author's Note:**

  * For [soowrites](https://archiveofourown.org/users/soowrites/gifts).



> For WhatIMustWrite (gabe1990 on lj)
> 
> So, you asked for pining and awkward stalkery-ness. Well, there’s pining. And awkward stalking, but done by a third party. It turned out to be more about the pack as a whole than just Derek & Stiles, and more platonic than romantic. I hope you don’t mind.
> 
> Beta’d by the lovely rufflefeather <3

“Ugh, why are boys so _stupid_?” Erica whines, twirling her curls between her fingers in a way that Isaac knows means she’s plotting something. He gets nervous whenever he sees that gesture, knowing that soon something is going to come out of her mouth that is eventually, in some way, going to make his life harder. Probably amusing, too, so long as it has nothing to do with him directly.

“Care to be more specific?” he asks cautiously, curious but also dreading where this is going. He thinks he already knows.

Erica gives him her withering _’don’t play stupid’_ look, but Isaac counters with the confused puppy eyes, which seem to work pretty well on everyone _but_ Erica. She just rolls her eyes and brings a hand up to scritch her nails through his curls, which is possibly what he was angling for when he flopped down beside her in the first place.

It’s the aftermath of a pack meeting, and the others with real homes to return to are gathering up their coats and saying their farewells. Scott is sealed to Allison by the lips, as they take the opportunity to frantically make out before she has to return to her psychotic, overprotective father; as if they won’t see each other in school tomorrow anyway. Stiles, Scott’s ride home, is standing awkwardly a few feet away, fidgeting with his sleeve cuffs and tactfully pretending not to notice the serious face sucking taking place right in front of him.

Erica’s eyes are locked on Stiles, that pout of determined concentration on her face as she examines him, and Isaac tries to follow her gaze, to see what she sees.

As they watch, Derek approaches, and even from across the room they can see the obvious way Stiles’s pulse jumps in his throat, the way he rubs his palms against his jeans.

Derek is asking something inconsequential, about research he asked Stiles to do, on herbs and cures. Isaac can’t really be bothered to eavesdrop on such trivial conversation, but he lets his other senses expand within his consciousness. He notices Derek leans a little too close, his nostrils flaring. He’s scenting the air, scenting _Stiles_ , and _yeah,_ Isaac thinks, _I know exactly where Erica’s rant is going._

“Could they be any more obvious?” she asks, clearly rhetorically. Isaac nods anyway, because he likes the way it makes her fingers rub over his scalp, and Erica always likes being agreed with.

It’s not like she’s wrong. This has become sort of a…thing. It’s been a long time since Isaac has seen Derek manhandle Stiles, or really anyone, for that matter. Instead it’s morphed into casual touches, a blatant disregard for personal space, and, more and more, Derek finding trivial reasons to go to Stiles for advice, though he’ll never call it that. While Stiles…well, Stiles had been obvious right from the start, his teenage body giving him away in a million subtle ways that probably even a non-werewolf would be able to read. Stiles is about as subtle as a neon billboard.

The frustrating thing, as Erica points out, is—“Why don’t they just do it already and put us all out of our misery?”

“Who?” Boyd asks, flopping down on Erica’s other side. He leans into her, but not too close, not practically in her lap like Isaac is. Boyd is still getting the hang of this platonic cuddling thing, but he’s getting there.

Erica simply nods her head towards where Stiles is currently spewing some kind of verbal tidal wave that clearly has Derek both amused and bemused, because his eyebrows are doing this complicated little dance. His lips are twitching ever so slightly in the corners, though. It’s a look they see on Derek more and more lately, and it’s infinitely better than his old Scowl of Doom.

“Oh, them,” Boyd says, because obviously this is an acknowledged thing that _everyone_ is aware of, except maybe Scott, because he never notices things that don’t have to do with Allison, and of course the two idiots directly involved. Because they’re idiots.

“They’re going to kill me with all these desperate hormones they’re giving off,” Erica grouches. “Derek’s been all keyed up for weeks, it’s seriously starting to affect my zen.” Which Isaac knows is complete bullshit, what Erica actually means is that it’s been affecting Derek’s moods, making them turn of a dime, with little provocation. When his grouchy moods hit (when Stiles isn’t around, or is mad at Derek), he’s more likely to take his frustrations out on them as thinly disguised ‘training sessions’.

So, really, this unresolved tension is bad for everyone’s health.

“We need to do something about it,” Erica states, in a tone that means she’s made an executive decision, and they have no choice but to follow. Really, sometimes Isaac wonders who the real Alpha is; Erica can be just as terrifying as Derek when she doesn’t get her way, albeit in more subtle and sinister ways.

As long as she keeps scratching the nape of his neck like that, Isaac is pretty willing to go along with whatever Erica says. Boyd just shrugs his shoulders, because Boyd is pragmatic above all else, and what’s good for Derek is good for the pack.

Isaac just hopes Erica knows what she’s doing.

*****

They don’t really have a _plan_ , per se, because that’s not Erica’s style. She does, at Isaac’s prompting, accept the need for a code name for their operation. It’s how Operation: Get Some, is born (because no one ever accused Erica of being subtle).

It’s also Isaac’s idea to watch all the teenage rom-com movies they can borrow from the town library, and yeah. After that Isaac’s idea-pitching privileges get unanimously revoked. Though they do have a fun time throwing popcorn at the screen and laughing their asses off, until Derek comes in and demands that they keep it down. Which only underlines how badly they need to get him laid.

So if this thing is ever going to get off the ground it’s time to man up and admit they need help. And who better to ask for insight into the frightening mind of Stiles Stilinski, Isaac reasons, than his best friend? It certainly can’t hurt to get another brain in on this.

The only problem is that talking to Scott basically means talking to Scott-and-Allison. Since their reunion they’ve been connected at the hip whenever she can sneak out of the house. Erica isn’t thrilled about making friendly chit-chat with the girl who, you know, _put an arrow through her arm_ , but, as Isaac reminds her, it’s time to take one for the team. For all their sakes.

“You want to set up Stiles and Derek?” Allison asks, smiling at the three of them from her place glued to Scott’s side. Sometimes Isaac wants to hate her out of loyalty to Erica and Boyd, and he knows well that dangerous things can come in cute packages, but there’s just something about the way she smiles around Scott and Stiles. He thinks that if nothing else, they can at least trust her with this. It’s a small step.

Thankfully, she catches on to their plans quickly. Scott still looks lost and confused, but then again, Isaac is pretty sure that’s just his default face. He had flat out laughed in their faces when Erica first explained, clearly thinking this was some kind of epic prank. Confusion is an improvement.

“Stiles and _Derek_?” Scott parrots, for the tenth time, his expression somewhere between horror and disbelief. Maybe he won’t be so helpful, after all. 

“I think it’s really sweet,” Allison says, looking at Scott with that air of contentment that being in love seems to give people. Erica begins muttering under her breath but Boyd gives her a quelling look. _Your idea_ , he reminds her, with no more than a flex of his eyebrows. Boyd’s capacity for non-verbal communication is frankly astounding and useful, when Erica actually pays attention.

Instead she turns her attention on Scott, who is now busy getting his hair petted, and seems to have forgotten about their conversation entirely. Isaac can’t really blame him, because getting petted is _awesome_.

“So, Scott. How did a dork like you manage to trick a cute girl into falling for you?” Erica asks. She says it with a derisive sneer, but it’s her teasing sneer, not her actual malicious, ‘I don’t need claws to rip you apart’ sneer. She may claim Scott is an annoying idiot (and he is, sometimes), but now that he’s pack, _real_ pack, he’s _their_ annoying idiot. Even Erica loves him, in her own way.

“Well,” Scott says hesitantly, a flush covering his cheeks as he dips his head in that very appropriately puppy-like way which Isaac (secretly) finds endearing. “I…loaned her a pen?”

Allison giggles like this is an old inside joke between them, but Erica groans, rising to her feet. Her tolerance for Scott only goes so far, really. Boyd pulls her back down and she complies without complaint, through her glare is growing more exasperated. Just because Scott’s pack, doesn’t mean she won’t smack some sense into him.

Allison steps in before it comes to that. “The pen was when I first noticed you. But when I _fell_ for you was at the vet. You remember?” Scott grins at the memory and leans in for a kiss. For a few moments Isaac, Erica, and Boyd have to avert their eyes, until Boyd clears his throat tactfully, reminding the two oblivious lovebirds of their audience. It’s just like a pack meeting, really, but with less Derek scowling.

“Right,” Scott says, blushing slightly, looking awfully pleased with himself nonetheless. Ever since they got back together, he seems to take great pleasure in proving it to everyone with functioning eyesight. They really need to have a talk with him about the PDA, it’s starting to get really awkward.

“When Allison first moved here, she…accidentally hit a dog with her car. It was totally fine!” he adds hastily, as Isaac gapes and Erica bursts into sniggers of amusement at someone else’s fuck up. Allison looks contrite and embarrassed, but smiles when Scott puts his arm around her, giving her a reassuring squeeze. “She brought it into the vet clinic, and I helped bandage him up. Good as new.”

“I was really shaken up and freaking out,” Allison adds, her hand slipping into Scott’s. “Scott calmed me down and got me through it. I knew I could rely on him, and that’s the moment I fell for him.” She looks dreamy-eyed, consumed with the memory, and everyone else tactfully refrains from mentioning how a few months later she wanted to _literally_ kill Scott. It’s all part of this new, uneasy truce they’re still working out.

“So, wait,” Isaac says, because this whole conversation has gotten away from him, and he’s not sure what this has to do with Stiles and Derek anymore. “What you’re saying is that Stiles should hit a dog with his car? Or Derek should get hit by a car? Sorry guys, but I really don’t think your brand of deranged romance is going to work here.”

That makes Erica chuckle a little, which Isaac figures she deserves for her good behavior so far. But seriously, how are the hopeless duo’s romantic reminisces helping them get their Alpha into Stiles’s pants, and/or heart? Preferably both, but Isaac will settle for either, at this point.

“What she’s saying is that they need to see that they can depend on each other in a crisis.” Of course it’s Boyd who puts all the pieces together and comes to the rational conclusions. This is why they need him around, after all.

“Um, maybe you guys have forgotten, but our entire lives are kind of one big crisis,” Isaac feels the need to point out, because it should be obvious. “You know, giant lizard attacks, Alpha packs, crazy-ass hunters—um, no offence, Allison. If none of that has done the trick, what’s it gonna take?”

The others concede his point in contemplative silence.

“We do get in a lot of trouble, don’t we?” Scott says, sounding oddly pleased, like almost getting killed by magical creatures is the same as getting caught drinking underage or pulling silly pranks on each other. It’s a mark of how fucked up their lives have become that they all smile along with him, even if it’s with a touch of sadness and regret.

“Stiles is always the one there for us,” Boyd adds quietly, because it’s what they’re all thinking. He hasn’t just saved Derek’s ass—literally—on more than one occasion. His research has helped them defeat more than one threat, and he’s never stayed out of the fighting just because he’s human and therefore fragile. Hell, even in the normal, teenage, everyday kind of crisis, like forgetting to write a paper because they’re too busy fighting witches, or being separated from your boyfriend because you’re family are a bunch of werewolf-hating psychos, Stiles is the one there for them all.

Isaac hopes Derek has realized this too. Then again, he would have to be pretty stupid _not_ to, because he’s the one Stiles has helped most of all.

So their first attempt doesn’t really lead to any kind of solid plan. If everyone takes to thanking Stiles more often, until he gets suspicious and starts checking them for signs of magical manipulation, well. It’s not like it’s a _bad_ thing.

****  
Their next strategy sort of falls into their laps unbidden. The next day at school Lydia joins the three of them at lunch, sitting down like a benevolent queen gracing her subjects with her divine presence. She’s probably never been turned away from a lunch table before, Isaac thinks ruefully.

“I know what it is you three are doing, but you’re going about it all wrong,” she says matter-of-factly, leaving no room for argument. Isaac can sense Erica’s hackles rise instantly. She likes being in charge of their little group, and it irritates her to take orders from anyone other than Derek (and sometimes Derek as well). Lydia isn’t even pack, despite Jackson’s new non-lizard status, which makes it doubly irritating. This is _pack_ business, as far as they’re concerned. Stiles and Derek and _theirs_ to worry about.

Lydia doesn’t seem to notice their disgruntlement, launching straight into her own plan of attack like a five-star general on campaign.

“What we need is to make Derek jealous,” she says, with a delicate shrug of her shoulders that eloquently says ‘it’s obvious and you guys are morons for not thinking of it yourselves.’ Which, now that Isaac considers it, maybe they are.

Derek has always been sort of unconsciously possessive of Stiles. He noticeably twitches every time and outsider touches Stiles (even in the context of Lacrosse practice, which gets kind of awkward), and practically growls every time Peter so much as dares to look at him. The thing is, in the time since they’ve all known Stiles, no one has ever really approached him with romantic intent. Erica has flirted with him a fair bit, but they all knew she didn’t really mean it. So Derek’s (unofficial) claim has never really been contested. Maybe that’s why he’s been so complacent.

“Trust me,” Lydia says, delicately nibbling on her salad, “it worked like a charm with Jackson. Some men need that little push to see what’s right in front of them.”

But then Lydia stiffens, as if maybe she’s given too much away, somehow diminished her aura of perfection. She’s opened up to the pack by small degrees, but it seems like in public places she’s still her same old self.

“Well, all I’m saying is, make Derek work a little harder for his undivided attention.” She plays it off like it’d be some kind of hardship, but they’ve all gotten to know her better than that by now. There’s a fondness in her tone when she talks about Stiles, like he’s her pesky kid brother that she can’t help but love. Actually, Isaac is kind of familiar with that feeling himself. It’s just this vibe Stiles gives off, though he doesn’t seem to realize it.

“It might work,” Erica says with a noncommittal shrug of her shoulders. Isaac knows she’s just wishing she has thought of it herself. Lydia smiles smugly and takes another bite of salad, apparently done with this conversation now that she has delivered her wisdom from upon high.

Erica settles into thoughtful silence, mind scheming happily. This means she’ll get to dress Stiles up, maybe even take him out, which is bound to make her happy. And if they’re all forced to maybe flirt with Stiles a little, well, it’s a sacrifice he’s prepared to make. For the greater good, of course.

This scheme ends up no more successful than the first, though they at least _try_ this time. At pack meetings, or at their unofficial after-school hangouts at the warehouse, the betas take to keeping closer to Stiles. Isaac all but bodily forces him to sit on the couch between him and the others, even though it’s too small to fit them all comfortably without being _on top_ of one another. Though, actually, it turns out to be really comfortable, and who would have guessed that Stiles gives _really good_ head rubs?

Derek, instead of looking jealous, actually almost _smiles_ at them. It’s unnerving, and freaks them out more than being growled at, but not enough to stop.

Erica has always found it amusing to flirt with Stiles because of the awkward way he tries so hard to pretend not to notice, and even harder not to look at her chest. She plays it up to the point of being completely absurd, rubbing herself against Stiles, leaning in close to talk to him, practically purring in his ears. The only result is Stiles turning red and looking decidedly uncomfortable, while Derek glares silently from across the room, but makes no move to intervene. Isaac can tell that having her…charms so easily dismissed hurts Erica’s ego a little, so makes a point of being extra nice to her for a few days.

Jackson even goes out of his way to be nice to Stiles, in his own, slightly jerk-ish way, and even brings himself to give a few manly back-pats and almost-hugs. Lydia is the only one who seems to get jealous, and Derek never even notices.

All in all, it’s a bust. Except for the part where Stiles stops fidgeting and squirming when any of them touch him. That, actually, is pretty awesome.

****

“I think we’ve been going about this the wrong way round,” Erica announces, pulling Isaac’s attention away from the video game he’s playing with Boyd. Boyd may be generally stronger and smarter than him, he’s absolute shit at video games. It makes him Isaac’s favorite partner. And also because Erica gets downright vicious with the smack talk.

“You mean we’ve been trying to instigate Derek to action, when maybe we should be focusing on Stiles?” Boyd drawls, astoundingly perceptive as always. Erica just glares at him in response, because really, if Boyd realizes these things, why the hell doesn’t he speak up unless prompted? It’s something they need to work on.

“Yeah, basically that,” Erica says, momentarily deflating at having her big reveal stolen. But then she perks up, flashing them her sleaziest leer. “And I think this time I have the perfect plan.”

“Which is?” Isaac asks, turning back to the game. If she has it figured out, there’s not much for him to contribute here.

“What’s Derek’s best asset?” Erica asks, but it sounds rhetorical, so Isaac keeps quiet and, well, Boyd always keeps quiet. “His abs, duh!” she practically shouts, and it’s a good thing Derek’s gone into town on a supply run, because the whole forest can probably hear her cackles of deranged amusement.

Isaac shrugs in response because she’s really not wrong. Derek’s looks are one of his strongest selling points, which he clearly knows and manipulates to his own purposes, at times. How that’s going to help in this situation, he’s not quite sure.

“So we just need to make sure his shirt stays off as much as possible when Stiles is around. Let him bask in their gloriousness for a while. The poor kid won’t be able to help himself.” She’s grinning like a madwoman, but Isaac has to admit, the plan probably has some merit. It’s simple, dirty fighting. Their specialty.

The beauty of this plan is that they wouldn’t really have to _do_ anything. Shirtless seems to be Derek’s natural state. It might have something to do with being a born wolf, feeling closer to his animal side than his turned betas. When they’re working on the house, or running in the woods, or doing practice drills, Derek’s the first to start stripping down, even when it’s downright chilly outside.

Stiles is generally around for these masculine displays, and they can _all_ smell the way his scent subtly changes, raising the levels of ‘awkward teenager’ and ‘desperate hormones’ (these are totally legit scents, ones Isaac has become all too familiar with, sadly). While his babbling might increase, along with the breadth of his hand gestures, that’s about it. Never once has Stiles been driven to spontaneously throw himself at Derek’s naked chest, even if maybe everyone can tell he wants to.

So, no, that’s not really going to work either, Isaac realizes, feeling his momentary hope deflate. Maybe nothing is going to work. This whole operation has been sort of fun, and it’s brought the newer members of the pack a little closer together, but maybe this whole endeavor was pointless from the start.

Isaac shrugs, searching for the right words to explain. “Maybe,” he starts, wary of Erica’s reaction, “Maybe we should just…stop. Let them be. Let things take their own course. You know.”

Maybe there’s a _reason_ neither of them has made a move, he doesn’t say out loud. They both have to know how the other feels; it certainly doesn’t take werewolf senses to figure it out. So maybe there’s another variable here, something the rest of them don’t know about. Isaac vaguely knows about Derek’s traumatic past, and he knows Stiles had been hung up on Lydia for years. Maybe something is holding them back, something their silly scheming can’t fix.

Erica looks annoyed, but as she considers, her face settles into a sad kind of resignation. Sure, this had been partly amusement for her. She enjoys the scheming and the matchmaking and getting the whole pack to work together. But she also wants everyone to be happy. She would probably never admit it, but Isaac notices how she secretly looks out for everyone. She may have had her doubts about the pack once, but now they are her family, and Erica is nothing if not fiercely loyal.

Giving up feels like letting them down, Isaac can feel it too, but there’s really nothing more they can do. Any more interference might actually cause more harm than good. Sometimes you just have to let two people work it out for themselves.

“They need each other,” Erica pouts, leaning herself against Isaac’s shoulder and presenting her hair to be petted. “Why can’t they see that?”

Not even Boyd has an answer for that.

****

In the end, it isn’t scheming or tricks or plans that bring them together. Actually, none of them are really sure _what_ finally does it.

They’re at yet another pack meeting, preparing for the upcoming full moon. It’s not as big a deal as it once was, now that they all have the shift pretty well under control. Derek still likes to have contingency plans, just in case, and they have to set out when and where they’re meeting to go running. Instead of a dreaded nightmare, the full moons have become everyone’s favorite night, because now they don’t have to face them alone. Now they’re pack nights.

Stiles is handing out steaming mugs of coffee, which has somehow become his unofficial duty at these meetings. He always saves Derek’s for last, so it will still be fresh and warm from the carafe. It’s one of those silly little status things that Stiles doesn’t even seem to be conscious of, that comes of being pack.

As he hands Derek his mug, Derek takes an appreciative sniff and smiles. It’s almost startling in its carefree warmth. Derek’s smiles have gotten more frequent over time, but not so much that they can be taken for granted. Stiles seems to realize this too, and flushes in pleasure at having caused such a rare thing. Before Stiles seems to realize what’s happening, Derek leans in, nuzzling his nose along Stiles’s throat, and murmurs a thanks that Isaac can only faintly hear from across the room.

Stiles’s body goes taut at the contact, like a tightly wound spring, all suppressed energy waiting for an outlet. Like cornered prey, waiting for the death blow, Isaac thinks nervously. Derek’s hand comes up to wrap itself around Stiles’s waist, cautiously, like he thinks Stiles might bolt if startled. He continues to rub his face into the crook of Stiles’s neck, and by degrees, Stiles melts into the touch, as seamlessly as if it’s the most natural thing in the world, as if it’s always been that way. They exchange a few whispered words, too quiet for Isaac to make out, and there’s a kiss so quick Isaac isn’t sure it actually happened.

Then Derek is turning back to the pack, but he doesn’t release Stiles, and Stiles makes no attempt to separate himself. Derek clears his throat, and the pack meeting begins. Like it always does.

Isaac looks around, expecting to see shock or surprise on the other faces. But mostly they just look like this is completely normal. Like Stiles and their Alpha canoodling in front of them is a thing that happens. Regularly. Scott looks the tiniest bit confused, but he’s smiling, and nestling in closer to Allison, who’s beaming at her friends. She may not be pack, but she’s still sort of family. He looks at Erica, and she flashes him the tiniest smirk of triumph, but mostly she just looks completely content and happy. And Isaac can’t really explain why, but he gets it. It’s exactly how he feels too. Like things are finally _right_.

They never announce their relationship, or explain anything. Maybe they had their own understanding all along, and Erica has worried them all for nothing. Maybe this is as new and surprising to them as to everyone else. Either way, it doesn’t matter. Everyone gets what they wanted all along: they’re a pack, and now, they’re complete.


End file.
